Landmarks and architecture Manhattan

a. t. stewart in 1870, 9th street, manhattan



numerous buildings have jagged façade, exemplified @ park avenue , 57th street in midtown manhattan.

broadway , theater district surrounding times square, central park, chinatown, chrysler building, columbia university, empire state building, flatiron building, fulton center, grand central station, harlem, high line, koreatown, lincoln center performing arts, little italy, madison square garden, museum mile on fifth avenue, new york stock exchange on wall street, new york university , washington square arch in greenwich village, 1 world trade center, penn station, port authority bus terminal, radio city music hall, rockefeller center, stonewall inn, trump tower, gateways numerous iconic river-crossing bridges, , emerging number of supertall skyscrapers, located on densely populated manhattan island; statue of liberty rests on pedestal on liberty island, exclave of manhattan. borough has many energy-efficient green office buildings, such hearst tower, rebuilt 7 world trade center, , bank of america tower—the first skyscraper designed attain platinum leed certification.

architectural history

the skyscraper, has shaped manhattan s distinctive skyline, has been closely associated new york city s identity since end of 19th century. 1890 1973, title of world s tallest building resided continually in manhattan (with gap between 1901 , 1908, when title held philadelphia city hall), 9 different buildings holding title. new york world building on park row, first take title in 1890, standing 309 feet (94 m) until 1955, when demolished construct new ramp brooklyn bridge. nearby park row building, 29 stories standing 391 feet (119 m) high took title in 1899. 41-story singer building, constructed in 1908 headquarters of eponymous sewing machine manufacturer, stood 612 feet (187 m) high until 1967, when became tallest building ever demolished. metropolitan life insurance company tower, standing 700 feet (210 m) @ foot of madison avenue, wrested title in 1909, tower reminiscent of st mark s campanile in venice. woolworth building, , distinctive gothic architecture, took title in 1913, topping off @ 792 feet (241 m). structures such equitable building of 1915, rises vertically forty stories sidewalk, prompted passage of 1916 zoning resolution, requiring new buildings withdraw progressively @ defined angle street rose, in order preserve view of sky @ street level.

the roaring twenties saw race sky, 3 separate buildings pursuing world s tallest title in span of year. stock market soared in days before wall street crash of 1929, 2 developers publicly competed crown. @ 927 feet (283 m), 40 wall street, completed in may 1930 in eleven months headquarters of bank of manhattan, seemed have secured title. @ lexington avenue , 42nd street, auto executive walter chrysler , architect william van alen developed plans build structure s trademark 185-foot (56 m) spire in secret, pushing chrysler building 1,046 feet (319 m) , making tallest in world when completed in 1929. both buildings surpassed may 1931 completion of 102-story empire state building art deco tower reaching 1,250 feet (380 m) @ top of building. 203-foot (62 m) high pinnacle later added bringing total height of building 1,453 ft (443 m).

the former twin towers of world trade center located in lower manhattan. @ 1,368 , 1,362 feet (417 , 415 m), 110-story buildings world s tallest 1972 until surpassed construction of willis tower in 1974 (formerly known sears tower, located in chicago). 1 world trade center, replacement twin towers of world trade center, tallest building in western hemisphere.

in 1961, pennsylvania railroad unveiled plans tear down old penn station , replace new madison square garden , office building complex. organized protests aimed @ preserving mckim, mead & white-designed structure completed in 1910, considered masterpiece of beaux-arts style , 1 of architectural jewels of new york city. despite these efforts, demolition of structure began in october 1963. loss of penn station—called act of irresponsible public vandalism historian lewis mumford—led directly enactment in 1965 of local law establishing new york city landmarks preservation commission, responsible preserving city s historic, aesthetic, , cultural heritage . historic preservation movement triggered penn station s demise has been credited retention of 1 million structures nationwide, including 1,000 in new york city. in 2017, multibillion-dollar rebuilding plan unveiled restore historic grandeur of penn station, in process of upgrading landmark s status critical transportation hub.

parkland

parkland composes 17.8% of borough, covering total of 2,686 acres (10.87 km). central park bordered on north west 110th street, on west eighth avenue, on south west 59th street, , on east fifth avenue. along park s borders, these streets referred central park north, central park west, , central park south, respectively (fifth avenue retains name along eastern border). park designed frederick law olmsted , calvert vaux. 843-acre (3.41 km) park offers extensive walking tracks, 2 ice-skating rinks, wildlife sanctuary, , grassy areas used various sporting pursuits, playgrounds children. park popular oasis migrating birds, , popular bird watchers. 6-mile (9.7 km) road circling park popular joggers, bicyclists , inline skaters, on weekends , in evenings after 7:00 pm, when automobile traffic banned. while of park looks natural, entirely landscaped , contains several artificial lakes. construction of central park in 1850s 1 of era s massive public works projects. 20,000 workers crafted topography create english-style pastoral landscape olmsted , vaux sought create. workers moved 3,000,000 cubic yards (2,300,000 m) of soil , planted more 270,000 trees , shrubs.

almost 70% of manhattan s space devoted parks located outside of central park, including 204 playgrounds, 251 greenstreets, 371 basketball courts, , many other amenities. african burial ground national monument @ duane street preserves site containing remains of on 400 africans buried during 17th , 18th centuries. remains found in 1991 during construction of foley square federal office building.